“Letting the Sunshine IN: An Open Data and Open Government Workshop,” is open to anyone interested in open government and open data, including journalists, civic activists and neighborhood association members, said Anthony Fargo, director of CIMLAPS and a co-organizer of the event.

The workshop will be in the ballroom of University Tower, 911 W. North St., on the IUPUI campus.
“The strength of our open government laws is that they apply to everyone, not just journalists or public officials,” said Fargo, an associate professor in The Media School at Indiana University. “Anyone at any time may need to gain access to records held by a government agency or attend a meeting of a public body, so all of us have a stake in learning how effective our access laws are.”

Confirmed speakers at the conference include state, regional and national journalists and open government advocates, who will participate in informational sessions about state and national access laws.

The workshop will close with a hands-on session on how to request data and metadata from public agencies. Experts will guide attendees in submitting actual requests to state agencies for information about their data sets. Participants should bring a laptop computer or other WiFi-capable device.

Lanosga said the goal is to launch an open online catalog of state data sets.
“We know that one of the key barriers to opening public data is lack of knowledge about the range of data that state agencies maintain,” he said. “This effort will go a long way to eliminating the unknowns about state data sets and make it easier for journalists and others in the public to request them.”

Brant Houston, Knight Chair for Investigative Reporting, University of Illinois

Kimbriell Kelly, data journalist, Washington Post

Moderator: Gerry Lanosga

3:15 p.m. — Strategy Session and Hands-On Work

Moderator: Gerry Lanosga

The workshop is made possible by a gift to CIMLAPS from IU journalism alumna Barbara Restle. It is free to pre-registered participants and includes breakfast, lunch and parking. Visitor parking is available in the North Street and Vermont Street parking garages and the Hine Hall Tower Garage.
Although there is no charge to attend the workshop, attendance is limited and advance registration is required. To pre-register, go to mediaschool.indiana.edu/letting-the-sunshine-in-registration-form/. The registration deadline is 5 p.m. EDT March 12.